


Ghost

by inkbender



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Beyond Death, Beyond the Walls, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-11
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2017-12-26 06:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/962860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkbender/pseuds/inkbender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally, a reunion of words between Levi and his squad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sundown

Damn paperwork.

Levi takes a moment to rest his forehead against the palm of his hand. He is first and foremost the world's strongest man, and the whole world within the Walls knows this. Then why is he stuck an uncomfortable chair in his military office, pushing papers?

His eyes drift down the written pages sleepily. He shouldn't be the one scratching out meaningless words on paper for the government to keep in some obscure information storage shed. Maybe he should sic this work on Hanji instead. He shouldn't be the one doing this shit, especially this late in the evening.

He never wanted to do _this_ particular stack of paperwork.

His eyelids have just slipped shut when the familiar sound of a mug alighting gently on his desk rings its way into his ears. His right arm moves almost of its own accord, grasping the warm handle and lifting the cup to just under his nose first. The welcome aroma of coffee wafting up into his nostrils alone is enough revitalize him; his eyes flutter open, finding the smiling face of Petra standing in front of him.

"You looked like you needed a pick-me-up," she says fondly.

Levi takes a careful sip of the dark and sweet beverage, but of course he needn't have worried; Petra's waited the appropriate amount of time to bring the temperature of his drink down to bearably hot, and she's added just the right pinch of brown sugar to bring out the coffee's earthy flavors without overwhelming it with the taste of molasses.

"Thank you," he says gruffly, taking a slightly deeper drink before setting both the mug and the pen he'd still been holding back onto his desk.

The sensation of paper slipping away from under his left hand causes Levi to instinctively apply downward pressure onto his runaway documents. The blonde Erd laughs quietly as he slips the rest of the stack of paperwork out from underneath, leaving Levi with only his first page. Gunter steps in front of his fellow soldier as Levi hotly demands, "Erd, return that to me now. That's an order."

"Corporal," says Gunter reasonably, "You cannot complete your work to the best of your ability when you are emotionally compromised."

His psyche is slightly out of whack, Levi silently admits to himself; he normally would be able to keep his cool in any and all situations. Today, though, is an exception. It's been a long, long day, and a lot (too much) has happened.

He is very, very tired.

Still, he maintains his stern expression as he leans to the left, trying to look around Gunter's stocky form. Unfortunately, from his seated position within his office chair, his torso is too small to give his eyes much more than the very edge of Erd's cloak to latch onto. "Erd. Now."

"I have spent many an afternoon sealed up in my office physically documenting the technical methods that have led to my extremely high number of Titan kills," Auruo boasts as he swaggers up on Gunter's right. "And I must say that, despite my great accomplishments, even _my_ productivity sharply declines after the first hour. If you do not take a rest in between, Corporal, nothing good will come out of this."

"Are you trying to imitate the Corporal _in front of the Corporal?_ " Petra cries indignantly. "Not only is that incredibly lame, it also makes you look really stupid."

"Don't argue in such an unprofessional manner when the Corporal is here with us," Gunter interrupts before the fight can get much farther.

Erd walks from behind Gunter's back to where Levi can see him again. He holds up the thick stack of documents for his superior to see. "Don't fill this out just yet," he murmurs, slowly backing his way towards the office exit. "Wait until you've recovered more before you think about tackling this monster."

"At least wait until tomorrow morning before you return to your work," says Gunter firmly.

"Even the strong must rest," Auruo declares knowingly, following Gunter out the door.

Petra is the last to leave. Her eyes shine softly and her smile is tender, but... "Say your final farewells to us first, Corporal Levi."

Levi can only stare silently as the door clicks shut behind her.

Silence pools in the empty room.

The perfect mug of coffee is gone.

His pen still rests within his right hand.

The stack of blank documents lies untouched in front of him. Levi's eyes drift down onto the first page.

_**Name** : Petra Ral_  
 _ **Gender** : Female_  
 _ **Age** : 22 years old_  
 _ **Affiliation** : Scouting Legion_  
 _ **Status** :_

Deceased. That's what he should write. He should be writing pages and pages of damn paperwork on the military service and death of Petra Ral. The death of Gunter Shulz. Of Auruo Bossard and of Erd Gin - all about the ultimately meaningless sacrifices that his squad made for humankind.

For a long while, Levi can do nothing but cradle his head in his hands.


	2. Twilight

"It's the beach!"

Surprisingly, it isn't the excitable Sasha who spouts this cliché one-liner, but Eren. The brat charges the stretch of sand exuberantly, only to abruptly shy back the second his feet sink into the first dune. He treads the unfamiliar terrain experimentally, familiarizing himself with the semisolid ground before whooping and kicking up showers of powder with reckless abandon.

Levi considers reprimanding the younger boy for not only letting his guard down, but also for breaking formation. The other members of his squad shift around him, filling the hole that Eren's left behind. Though the day is nearing its end, Deviant Titans could still be out there. The last enemy Shifter bastards could group up and attack at any moment. Rebels who still supported the old monarchy would _die_ for an opportunity to attack Levi and his squad, the specialized task force that's managed to live through it all.

Still, as with any army, they've had their losses over the years.

Today, however, Levi assesses that this remote little beach, devoid of debris with its extremely fine-grained sand and gentle surf, is unlikely to hide forces of death and destruction. With Eren already clearly not giving a fuck, Levi heaves a sigh and gives his squad a curt nod.

Sasha whoops and unexpectedly begins to strip herself of articles of clothing; Jean stares, wide-eyed, until Armin lightly bops him on the head in reproach. Sasha's abrupt actions are explained the moment she sprints towards the water, clad only in a sports bra and workout shorts, and launches herself into the ocean spray. "Wahoooo—ACK COLD, COLD, COLD!"

A wide grin spreads its way across Jean's countenance as he grips the hem of his shirt with both hands and peels it off his sweaty torso. He's usually more reserved about exposing the ugly scars that have indented and twisted the smooth flesh of his right shoulder; but here, bounding after Sasha with only his second family watching, he doesn't have those qualms. (He does screech to a halt the second the surf laps over his crotch, attempting to silently endure the cold like a man. Little shit tries too hard.)

"Armin! Eren!" cries Sasha, already moving through the water with quick, efficient strokes. Figures the country bumpkin would know how to swim. "What's the hold up?"

"No thanks," Armin politely declines. He tucks the folds of his cloak underneath his seat as he settles into the sand while pulling up on the long ends of his scarf. The kid's matured, is practically a man now; but he's still as pathetically tiny as he was when he'd first entered the Recon Corps, so the crimson scarf is still a bit big on him. The brains of their squad doesn't look like he'd have much fun cavorting about in the chill ocean; instead, he seems perfectly content to simply  _observe_ it, even going as far as to pull out his notebook and begin scrawling down details. 

The brat, meanwhile, only chooses _now_ to look back at Levi. As if he needs permission to take off his outerwear to go swimming, but doesn't need to ask before he breaks formation and leaves his teammates unprotected.

Levi has to remind himself that the beach is safe. The world beyond the walls is largely Titan-free. He doesn't need to watch out for the safety of his squad anymore; they can fend for themselves just fine. Still, paranoia keeps him on the tips of his toes, standing guard at the entrance to the beach.

"I'll wait," calls Eren, glancing again at Levi. "I have something I need to take care of."

"Fine, whatever," Sasha grouses, moving onto more easily accessible prey.

"Uh, no," comes Jean's voice a second later. "No! Sasha, don't—aaaiiieeeee!"

When Sasha tackles Jean underneath the water's surface and neither resurfaces immediately, Levi's senses go on high alert. His knowledge about the ocean is sorely lacking here (pretty much extending to Armin's description of 'a lake that never ends'); he wouldn't put it past the Titans to develop an Abnormal that could breathe underwater. His hands are itching to go for his trusty sharp-edges—

His paranoia is dismissed when the conglomerate of Jean and Sasha pop out of the surf about two seconds later than usual. Jean hacks and coughs and flails, forgoing all previous attempts at masculinity by clinging to Sasha's body like a drowned rat. There are no immediately imminent sources of death and destruction. That's good.

A few meters away, Armin has settled into full Relax Mode, just listening to the everlasting rhythm of the sea. Eyes closed, pale face lifted to receive the gentle twilight. Absolute tranquility… up until the moment that the brat kicks sand all over his childhood friend.

"Ack! Blegh, Eren!"

"It's the beach!" exclaims Eren again, as if that will explain everything. He gestures to the wide expanse of blue to his right, in which Sasha is now joyfully glorifying the wonderful tastes of the ocean. "We made it to the endless waters, Armin. You, me, Mikasa… we're _free_."

Armin's shoulders tighten slightly at Mikasa's name, though he tries to hide it. It does fully relax when Sasha flops down beside him with all the grace of a drunken horse and heaves a carefree sigh. "You're totally right: the water _is_ salty!" She licks her lips and knocks wet sand onto Armin when she pats him on the shoulder. "So I was thinking: what if our sixty-eighth expedition had been to steal all the salt out of the ocean? It totally would have helped make the meat last longer that year!"

"I think," Jean grins, slogging out of said body of water after her, "that Armin made a very wise decision in becoming vegetarian." He deposits himself on Armin's other side and stretches his long legs across Armin's lap, sand-encrusted feet dangling above Sasha's belly. He directs a sadistic smile her way. "Don't you agree?"

"Psssshaw. You're missing out, Armin."

Armin repositions his hands so they rest comfortably on Jean's thighs. Lets out a deep breath as Sasha giggles and tries to tickle Jean's feet. Relaxes into the familiarity of his friends, the final four surviving members of Levi's squad.

The fourth member is missing.

Levi scans the beach yet again, his senses going hyperaware as—

"Captain?"

Humanity's strongest soldier barely hides his flinch. The brat has somehow managed to sneak up beside him without him noticing. He's losing his touch. He's too old for this shit.

He quickly banishes that thought.

"Captain, just hear me out on this, okay? One last time. Then I'll let you go."

He makes a show of folding his arms and looking away. "Yeah? Go ahead."

Eren stares out over the perpetual motion of the ocean. "I think…" He swallows, a tinge of ache coloring his voice. "I think here, at the boundary of humanity, I'll be able to say these last words to you, Captain."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"No walls here, right? There's nothing holding you back." He can feel Eren's eyes on him. "Nobody but us. Me."

"Cut the crap, brat." He turns his head ever so slightly in the boy's direction, just enough to make eye contact. "Just tell me what you're saying."

"I _am_. You're not listening." Eren runs fingers through his mess of hair in frustration. Takes a deep breath. "You told me once that, no matter the decisions we make, we won't ever be able predict the consequences, right? And sometimes that's really, it's really hard. Armin's only now gotten his closure about the decisions he made for himself—and for other people—during the sixty-eighth expedition."

A rush of memories sweeps across Levi's mind at those words, senseless psychological violence that almost drives him to his knees. The panicked adrenaline of the moment, flashes of steel, screams of the dying. Even worse is that singular second when he'd desperately wished to have chosen another path, right before everything faded into a silence drenched in the blood of the departed.

"Yeah? That's… good," is all he manages to say, barely keeping his cool. "Some idiots never really reach that point."

"I think it's about time that you did." Eren rushes onward before Levi can interject: "All of us—we've finally accepted what happened last year. Jean, Sasha, Armin, Historia, me… Mikasa and Connie too. You're the last one, Captain."

Levi startles at unexpected motion in his peripherals. Not the trio sitting on the beach, but out in the water: two figures, clad entirely in white, standing within the eternal surf. He recognizes them instantly: the idiot with the buzz cut and the girl of Orient missing her characteristic scarf, separated by about three feet of space. The young man only smiles sadly before turning away from Sasha. The woman, however, keeps her eyes on Eren—or is she watching him?

"Damn," he mutters. "What the hell?"

Eren places a hand on Levi's back. He doesn't push; he just keeps it there, a stabilizing force in a world that's abruptly flipped itself upside down. "You've never been one to do a job half-assed, huh?" he chuckles, as another two figures manifest within the water. "We've finally been able to make it to the edge of the world because of everything you've done for us, Captain. I'd say that's a job done well and well done."

The new pair stands slightly behind Mikasa and Connie, though they are by no means the next most recent of his comrades. Both appear to be as young as the day he'd last seen them all those years ago—the pigtailed redhead bouncing on the balls of her feet energetically while her polar-opposite companion waves him over.

Damn.

There are more, forming two parallel lines of old friends; his body reflexively moves towards them of its own accord, drifting across shifting sands. Erd and Gunther salute him respectfully as gentle waves of warm water lap against his ankles. A young female scribe and a scowling scoundrel wearing a bowler hat stand across from each other, their eyes only for him. A blonde commander folds two intact arms over his chest and settles for a simple nod of acknowledgment. A smug bastard somehow manages to bite his tongue without even speaking. And as the sea surges around Levi's waist, a woman with ginger hair and a gentle smile manifests at the end of the corridor of past squad members, framed by the burning amber of the setting sun. It's this woman who finally stops him in his tracks.

Though Levi's body turns slowly towards Eren in that moment, his gaze lingers on Petra Ral. Water and sky mesh into a splash of beautiful twilight at her heart, transforming the auburn fibers of her hair into evanescent gold. Like the ethereal ocean, like the fleeting sun, her figure flickers and glows, melting into the blurred boundary between reality and eternity—yet she stays solid for him, raising an expectant hand in his direction.

She could disappear at any moment, but Levi still turns his back on her to glance at Eren. "Oi, brat," he manages to bite out. "The sixty-eighth expedition. What happened to my squad?"

"We stood by your side to the end," growls Eren fiercely, "and beyond even that."

The tide pulls at Levi. It tugs at the white linen of his shirt, rustles the startlingly light cape around his shoulders. He's acutely aware of Isabella and Farlan, Erd and Gunther, Erwin and Mike, Mikasa and Connie, and many more flanking him, their spirits fading as the daylight dwindles away.

He nods slowly, eyes still on Eren. "And me?"

Wordlessly, the brat salutes him: one fist behind, the other fist over his heart. "It doesn't matter what side of the ocean that you're on, Captain. We squad members will always be with you."

His eyes flutter shut. "Damn straight," he mutters, angling his face towards the warmth of the sun and the depths of the ocean. "And I with you too. So this is it, then?"

Eren nods. "Y-Yeah. This is my final farewell to you, Captain Levi."

Levi doesn't open his eyes again as he turns towards the final spark of light between the sun and the sea. He doesn't look back, knowing that Jean, Armin, and Sasha will guide his brat back to the land of the living. He's just as confident that his squad on this side of the ocean is already falling into formation around him. He has no need to confirm what he knows to be true; but as the surf closes over Levi's head, casting his spirit into a world freed from the weight of gravity, he finally finds closure within himself as Petra's hand finds its way into his.

In the end, this reunion between Levi and his squad needs no words.


End file.
